What to Read on Feminism

In this reading list, the ‘x’ in womxn is used in an inclusive way to indicate gender fluidity and inclusivity. Read more on it here and here. However, the spelling ‘women’ is also used in this reading list to be consistent with the way in which it was used in the selected texts.

Written by Zahrah Nesbitt-Ahmed

Oct 13, 2018

Kijini Primary School students learn to float, swim, and perform rescues in the Indian Ocean off of Mnyuni, Zanzibar.ANNA BOYIAZIS

For generations, womxn have been dedicated to pursuing an agenda opposed to patriarchy—simply defined as a social system in which men primarily hold the power and benefit from it, while womxn are largely excluded from it. This fight does not exclude African womxn with their own experiences, writings, activism and scholarship.

It is important to be clear that feminism—which includes opposing ‘the patriarchy’—on the African contintent is not a new concept or phenomena imported from Western regions. See, for example, Ali Mari Tripp’s piece on this reading list—How African Feminism Changed the World—which discusses how African women, such as Egyptian novelist, Nawal El Saadawi, and Moroccan sociologist, Fatema Mernissi, challenged efforts by Western feminists to define global feminism at the 1976 international conference on Women and Development at Wellesley College.

As this reading list shows, feminism is complex—particularly African feminism, which has contributed a lot both to African development arenas and broader global feminisms. At the same time, there is a lot of resistance and, at times, overt hostility to feminist work—particularly across the African region, where it is largely seen as ‘un-African’. One thing that cannot be denied though is that, in 2018, everyone has an opinion on feminism. So, what better time to start to engage—or re-engage—with feminism.

There are a huge number of classic feminist texts, as well as more contemporary ones out there—this list covers merely a drop in the wealth of feminist literature out there. On this list, you will find fiction and nonfiction mostly by African womxn, Black womxn and womxn of colour; all from a wide range of fields and all engaging with feminism, directly or indirectly. This list also does not claim to be essential reading; instead, see it as a starting point on feminism, including African feminism.

For ease of access, texts in this list have been categorized into:

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About the Author

Zahrah Nesbitt-Ahmed

is an independent consultant and researcher with extensive experience in gender and social inclusion. She is currently an Africa Fellow at the World Bank Group; the founder and editor of the African literary blog, bookshy; the curator of ABC—a visual showcase of African Book Covers; and one-third of the literary podcast, Not Another Book Podcast.

Websitezahrahnesbitt.co.uk

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What to Read on Feminism